Hiya! Iāve been extremely interested in Cdramaās as of late and the costumes! Now in some of these dramas there are dancing scenes. But I saw that not all the dancing scenes are done in chinese clothes. I saw one scene where they wore a ābedlahā. Can I get your input wether this is just modern aesethic or not. Thank you for your time in answering our asks!
Hi, thanks for the question!
I know what youāre referring to - in Chinese historical costume (guzhuang) dramas, you can occasionally see characters wearing bedlahs or bedlah-like outfits for dance scenes. Example below - a character wearing bedlah for a dance scene in historical CdramaĀ Myth of Sword (x):
Bedlahs typically show up as dance costumes in historical Cdramas for the following reasons:
To give the dance a seductive/sensual air (of course this can be achieved with Chinese clothing, but bedlahs add an additional element of mystery and/orĀ āexoticnessā)Ā
To suggest/signify Xiyu influence. Xiyu (č„æå), lit.Ā āWestern Regionsā, was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of Yumen Pass, most often Central Asia or sometimes more specifically the easternmost portion of it (e.g. Altishahr or the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang), though it was sometimes used more generally to refer to other regions to the west of China as well, such as the Indian subcontinent (as in the novel Journey to the West)
For example, Tang dynasty-set CdramaĀ Beauties in the ClosetĀ features a bedlah dance scene, in which animal spirits disguised as women perform a dance to seduce the emperor (x). The Tang dynasty is famous for its Silk Road trade route that enabled strong relations with the empires to its west (ex: Byzantine, Persian, Arabian). The Tang capital Chang'an became an international metropolis, and foreign clothing & hairstyles became trendy. In Changāan and Luoyang, Turkish and Persian fashions were highly sought after (x). Thus, the bedlahs in this scene serve to emphasize the seductiveness of the dance, as well as make a nod to the multicultural nature of Tang society:
Another example comes from the historical CdramaĀ The Great Dunhuang,Ā which is based on the history of the oasis city of Dunhuang, which lies on the ancient Silk Road. In this scene, Meiduo, a princess from the ancient Kingdom of Khotan, dances a feitian (apsara) dance in feitian costumeĀ (x). Feitian costumes as depicted in Chinese media have similarities with bedlah, as can be seen below:
With all that said, though, the use of bedlahs in historical Cdrama costuming is still a modern aesthetic, due to the simple fact that the bedlah as we know it today is a modern 20th-century Egyptian belly dance costume influenced by European theatrical attire (1/2):
āThe bedlah is essentially a Westernized creation, though not a wholly Western creation. What really cinched its iconic popularity in dance was the golden age of Egyptian Cinema in the 50s-70s, when Egyptian movies still largely cast professional dancers for dance roles. These Egyptian dancers, directors, and costumers sought inspiration from Hollywood and American culture - the bedlah is basically an Egyptianized iteration of the types of costuming that American dancers and showgirls were wearing. (Think Vegas, burlesque, cabaret, lounge and nightclub culture, in addition to movies/popular music culture.)ā (Source)
Needless to say, this particular type of outfit did not even exist prior to the 1900s, much less during the Tang dynasty.
So why do they show up in historical Cdramas? As Iāve mentioned many times before (1/2/3), historical Chinese dramas tend to take a lot of liberties in their costume design. And indeed, this is one of those cases. I chalk it up to a combination of trying to appeal to modern audienceās aesthetics/expectations & lack of resources/attention. Researching & creating historically accurate outfits is a lot more difficult than slapping on a bedlah and calling it a day. ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
To be fair, this misunderstanding is a worldwide phenomenon, not just a Chinese one. For example, I donāt think itās an exaggeration to say that Disneyās depiction of Princess Jasmine in a bedlah in Aladdin played a huge role in propagating the perception that the bedlah was an actualĀ āancientā historic outfit. This influence is especially noticeable in the recent Chinese āXiyu aestheticā fashion trend. Below are two Xiyu-style outfits with the theme āLoulan Princessā (the Loulan Kingdom was an ancient kingdom based around an important oasis city along the Silk Road) (x):
TheĀ āPrincess Jasmine effectā is quite strong, wouldnāt you say? :P
For culturally/historically accurate Chinese dance clothes, please see my danceĀ &Ā dance hanfuĀ tags.
If anyone wants to share more information, please do. Hope this helps!
